


The Last Chance

by DarkJediQueen



Series: A Very Sterek Winter Fest 2021 [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A Very Sterek Winter Fest 2021, Alpha Derek, Alternate Universe, Everyone lives, M/M, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28998477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: A storm traps Stiles and Derek in a cabin and it makes them talk, settling wounds that had festered for a while.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Very Sterek Winter Fest 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123724
Comments: 30
Kudos: 196
Collections: A Very Sterek Winter 2021





	The Last Chance

**Author's Note:**

> **Year** : Future  
>  **Spoilers** : Everything  
>  **Notes** : For A Very Sterek Winter Fest 2021 Theme of Ice/Snow. This is a completed One-shot. There will be no more written in the universe. Cora was never sick and Derek never gave up his Alpha power.  
>  **Beta** : ScarsLikeVelvet

"What are you saying?" Stiles asked as he looked at Derek.

"I said there is a storm coming in," Derek answered.

"So...you drug me out here, and now you are telling me that we are trapped?" Stiles asked.

"You knew you weren't leaving up here for two weeks," Derek said

"Dude, that was two weeks of having the whole pack here. Not two weeks of you and me staring at each other with nothing to do."

"I told you to bring books. Didn't you do that?"

"Yes, Dad, I did."

"Don't call me that," Derek barked.

Stiles closed his mouth and nodded his head. He walked over to where his backpack was and picked it up before heading up to the second floor of the massive cabin. He found the room that was supposed to be his and settled his bag on the bed. He looked around. The cabin had good soundproofing. The pack had stayed there the summer before last for a getaway after the majority of them had graduated college. Stiles had stayed there for an extended degree. Lydia and Danny were still at college as well.

The only reason Stiles was even here was Cora was supposed to be there. He hadn't seen her in two years as she hadn't been able to get back much to Beacon Hills when Stiles was home from school. His summers were taken over by seminars and various things that looked good on his transcripts. Now though, no one was getting there. A storm had passed by the lower areas and took out the roads leading up after Derek and Stiles had headed up to this area. They could get into town to get the food they needed, but Derek said the storm would hit before anyone could get to them. They were all staying elsewhere until the roads would allow them to pass.

Stiles had thought that they weren't going to make it here, and the roads had been shitty as hell from previous storms. Stiles had driven in with Derek since they were both leaving from Beacon Hills while others were leaving from another place and meeting up and picking everyone else up.

"I'm heading out to get the food," Derek called out from the hallway.

"Give me a few to change my pants, and I'll go with you."

"It'll be quicker and easier if I just go alone."

"I'll start the fire then," Stiles said.

"I'll do that when I get back. We don't need you burning down the place."

Stiles was seriously debating heading into town with Derek and just staying there. He had seen a B&B that hadn't looked too much like he was going to be killed inside of it. Looking at his bag, Stiles thought about it. He walked to the window to see Derek already pulling away in the SUV. It was only a mile into town, and the road was twisty enough that it was less if Stiles would go straight. He wasn't stupid enough to do that, though. He knew what happened when one went off the path. He didn't need any giant spiders, thank you very much.

Grabbing his stuff for the bathroom, Stiles figured he could at least shower. Derek had made a few side-eyes at him during the trip and sniffed more than once. Stiles had showered that morning, but he had no clue what was up with Derek. Stiles would have Isaac and Scott pick him up as they headed closer to Beacon Hills, but no Derek had forced Stiles with him.

The shower did well at making Stiles feel a little better. Being stuck in the SUV with Derek from Beacon Hills to the five hours away cabin in the mountains was not exactly the most calming thing in the world. Derek was quiet like he usually was, and he didn't have the radio on. The one time they had stopped for gas on the way, Stiles had turned on the radio after hitting the bathroom and getting snacks, but as soon as Derek had gotten into the SUV again, he turned it off. Stiles had ended up just putting on his headphones and listening to a few lectures that he really liked and had recorded to listen to again. He made a few talking point notes and had just shut out the fact that he was in the SUV with the one man who Stiles had liked for who he was and not the person he held on a pedestal as he had done with Lydia for all of those years. Derek had been around campus a lot during Stiles' freshman year since four other pack members had been there.

After freshman year, Stiles had not seen Derek as much as he mostly focused on the Wolves in the pack and not Stiles when he was on campus. Stiles was lucky to get a text from their Alpha every few weeks. Peter was around to research and deal with all of that stuff needed. So, Stiles was left to the side.

Stiles was still kind of shocked he was invited to these kinds of things. Yeah, there were other humans the pack had picked up at them, more than just Lydia. A few new Betas had brought along human family members or human significant others. There had been a few issues with Scott at a few points, but thankfully, Derek had made sure that Scott knew that packs were always a mix of humans and the supernatural. Scott had been shocked about that, thinking that humans weren't allowed. Which had pissed off Stiles about him. Scott had commented that he assumed that Stiles was just there and wasn't in the pack.

Yet, here he was with no real part in the pack despite being told he was a part of it. The only person that really talked to him was Peter and Cora, and Cora wasn't even in the pack. Scott was up Isaac and Allison's asses, sometimes literally if Scott's ramblings were to be believed. Stiles grabbed his Kindle. He had charged it up before heading out with Derek, but he also had a few school books that he needed to read before his new class started up at the start of the term. He had also brought along a few new fantasy books that he wanted to read. He had more than enough stuff to keep him busy, even if his Kindle died and he couldn't read on it. There was more than enough wood and fireplaces in nearly every room of the cabin. The kitchen had a gas stove, but there was also an old-time log fire stove in the far corner.

Stiles walked over to his fireplace and settled in beside it to stock it. The room had more wood than usual, but that was so that there was enough to get the fire going and then keep it going before needing more wood. He laid his hand on the last bit of wood when he was done and thought about just staying in here. It wasn't like Derek would actually miss him. He might be happy to have the stupid human away from him. Stiles closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing under control. He didn't need to send himself into a panic attack when alone.

An hour later, Stiles was still in the same place even as he heard the SUV crunch on the snow in the driveway to the cabin. Stiles just laid down and looked up at the ceiling. He would offer to help Derek, but he didn't need to know what Derek thought would happen, like Stiles dropping all of the eggs or something. Stiles stayed where he was and thought about what he wanted to do with his now free time over the next week or so before the rest of the pack could make it to them. Reading, he was going to end up doing a lot of reading. He wished that he had brought his laptop, even though Derek had forbidden it. He did have notebooks and could get his two papers out of the way he needed to do. If he was just typing over, it would take a lot less time.

A knock on his door had Stiles turning his head to it. Derek, for once, didn't just barge inside.

"Come in," Stiles answered.

Derek came into the room with a plate of something in his hand. Stiles thought for a few seconds that Derek had brought him dinner, but he lifted up the fork and took a bite of the food before focusing on Stiles.

"I'll get the fireplaces in the living room, and the two bedrooms lit as soon as I get done eating."

"Sure thing."

"Kitchen's free to make yourself something."

"Gotcha."

Derek turned and left, leaving the door open. Stiles waited until Derek was hopefully downstairs, and he got up to shut the door and grab his meal replacement bars from his luggage. He ate one of those while looking out the window. He loved the window as it had a bench seat in it. He loved sitting in it last time, and even with the cold, it was nice to look out and see the snow. It was blowing harder than it had been, and even Stiles had trouble seeing too far out from the window. He laughed when he saw an animal dart through the snow a floor below.

Another knock, and this time Derek just entered. Stiles assumed that he was reasonably confident that Derek had only hesitated last time because he wasn't sure what state of dress Stiles was in.

"Fire?" Derek asked.

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

"Are you feeling okay? You've been off all day." Derek looked at Stiles like he was unsure if he was feeling okay.

"I've been off all day?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah, you never listen to music when we travel."

"Well, dude, that's because people actually talk to me. It's usually not just you and I in a car. I stopped having to babble to get through nerves and not having talk around me years ago. I can be a real boy and just listen to headphones in silence if I need to."

"You..." Derek trailed off and then stopped. He scratched at his head before shaking it and walking over to start the fire.

Stiles wasn't sure what was going on, but he waited for Derek to get done getting the fire going.

"You have the wood in a good arrangement."

"Yeah, Dad and I would go camping to fish, and I learned early how to make a fire," Stiles said.

"Why didn't you start the fire then?"

"I figured I would get yelled at for doing it. I mean, you went to get the groceries that you had already ordered to be ready and paid for and said it would be easier and quicker if you went alone. I offered to make the fire, and you said I would burn the house down."

"You didn't use to be this insecure," Derek pointed out.

"Dude, I was always insecure; I just hid it better when we were all running around trying not to die. So yeah." Stiles bobbed his head before turning to look back outside.

"I am sorry."

Stiles waved his hand because words were meaningless. He had been given words a lot over his life—promises to do better that never panned out.

"Stiles," Derek said, and it sounded like he was hurt, so Stiles looked over at him. Derek was standing in the middle of the room and looking lost. "I'm sorry."

"Derek, it's fine. Don't worry about it. We can just coexist in the same space. I already ate dinner. I have those meal replacement bars in my bag since half of the time, the food that the pack makes has things in it that I don't like. I'll make myself a good breakfast, and we can just...exist."

Derek looked a little gutted at that, but there was nothing that Stiles wanted to do to fix that. He had tried. He had years of trying and being on the edge of the pack anyway. He was sure that it was just his father staying friendly with the pack that kept him in it, even if he was on the edges. Even Peter knew more about the goings-on for the pack. Stiles was just the idiot on the side who was best at research. He wasn't sure that he was useful for anything else in the pack. He fought, and he fought well, but he wasn't there that much with school right now.

"Exist?" Derek asked.

"Look, I get it, okay. I'm the human who tags along because of Scott and my Dad. So, don't worry about entertaining me. It's not like I'm really part of the pack." Stiles didn't look at Derek when he said it.

The fire started to crackle, and then the door to Stiles' bedroom shut tight. Stiles didn't really care.

* * *

The smell of food woke up Stiles. He grabbed at his phone and unplugged it before rolling over to see what time it was. He frowned when he saw the time. It was just after eight. Which was damned good. Stiles had slept for nearly twelve hours. It seemed he was making up some time from not getting enough during classes and papers. He stretched and tried to get settled into the bed. He checked over the emails he had gotten in the night, most of which were junk and didn't interest him at all. He had one from Allison who showed off pictures of where she and her father were going skiing in France. Scott and Isaac were upset that one-third of them would not be here. There had been the hope that Scott might remember that Stiles existed, but that chance had fled when Scott had talked about all he planned to do with Isaac since it was an excellent time to focus on them. Spring break would be focusing on Scott and Allison as Isaac was going with Boyd and Erica somewhere for a vacation together. Allison and Scott had to stay close to home because of school, so Erica and Boyd were taking Isaac somewhere to get some sun on his skin.

The sound didn't carry around the cabin much, but Stiles did see that his bedroom door was open. Derek must have done that while Stiles was asleep. Groaning, Stiles slipped out of bed. He was dressed for a cold room, but the room was warm. He looked at the fire to see that it was freshly filled. Stiles shuffled to the bathroom to get himself mostly awake for the day. He grumbled as he changed out of his dirty clothes and into something clean for the day. He tried not to worry too much about what he was dressed in. He needed to be warm, and his thick jeans would help that, even if they were a little tight on him. They would relax and loosen enough over the day. The sweater he had on was a gift from Peter. It was soft and warm. Stiles kind of really liked it, even if it was from Peter.

Heading out of his room, Stiles looked around to figure out if Derek was upstairs or down. It seemed that he was down. Stiles ready himself for whatever shit the alpha was going to give him. The kitchen was full of more of that scent.

"Did you already drink your coffee?" Derek asked as he looked at Stiles' empty hands.

"Coffee?" Stiles asked. He really wasn't awake. Sleeping too long always left him feeling like he was a little out of sorts with everything. He looked around, trying to figure out what the hell Derek was talking about.

Derek growled and stalked out of the kitchen. Stiles followed him but split off to head to the living room. He wasn't dealing with a grumpy Derek this morning. He would wait until Derek was done with his breakfast prep, and then he would get in there and make himself a bowl of cereal or something. If there was cereal to be had in the place. He wasn't sure. He hadn't had a hand in the food that had been bought. Which was understandable given that he had not been there to do it.

"Here," Derek said.

Stiles looked up from where he had been going through the app messages on his phone to see Derek holding out a cup of coffee. "You didn't need to do that. I can make myself a cup of coffee when you are done with your breakfast."

"I made it for you and put it in your room while you are in the bathroom. You missed it when you came out. Do you need something to eat to take your pills?"

"I plan on taking them after I eat," Stiles said. He wasn't sure what was going on. Derek had never made him a cup of coffee or got him a drink at all. In fact, the last time that Stiles had asked him to get him a drink when he had been heading in to get himself a refill, Derek had told him he could do it himself. Which had involved Stiles getting up on his crutches, going to the kitchen. He had drunk out of the glass in there before heading back to the living room. A few minutes later, Peter had gone to get himself a drink and had come back with one for Stiles as well as snacks and his pills.

Stiles hadn't figured out if the look that Derek had given Peter was because he was pissed that Peter had done anything nice for someone who wasn't pack, or it was just that he hated that Peter did anything nice for Stiles at all.

Shaking his head to clear it, Stiles looked back down at his phone. He checked through a few more alerts before realizing that Derek was still standing there.

Yes?" Stiles asked as he looked up.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Derek, I'm hungry, so if you can finish up cooking, I can get in there and make my breakfast."

Derek got a constipated look on his face, and just as Stiles was about to look down again, Derek opened his mouth.

"I cooked enough for both of us. I can make you some toast if you want to take your pills before I am done. It'll be about twenty minutes."

Stiles wasn't sure what to make of Derek's offer of food.

"Uh, no. I like to wake up some before I take them."

Derek nodded his head and turned to head back into the kitchen. Stiles watched him go trying to figure out what the hell had happened. He was about to start looking for a pod or some weird strain of wolfsbane. Looking at his phone, though, Stiles just chalked it up to Derek, trying to make nice since he was stuck with just Stiles for a week. Being with someone made them different, especially when they had to be around just each other for a week.

"How do you like your eggs?" Derek called out a few minutes later.

"However you want to make them is fine with me."

"I asked how you wanted them, Stiles."

Stiles kept his mouth shut. He had answered Derek. He never cared about how he got his eggs. He ate them any way that they came. His father made them different each day of the week, and it was always random, so Stiles had gotten used to that.

"Stiles," Derek growled. Even though Stiles couldn't see his face.

"Dude quit acting like you give a fucking care," Stiles yelled. He got up off the couch and stomped to the kitchen. Derek was on his way toward Stiles in the living room.

"I care about you. You are in my pack."

"You have a fucking funny way of showing it. I saw you all the time freshman year, and then after that, it was like I didn't exist. I was fucking lucky if you even remembered to text me about anything. Middle of sophomore year, I texted you seven times about this guy who was paying attention to me, and I heard nothing back. Luckily, the main pack in the area took care of the asshole as he talked to one of their members. That Alpha actually checked on me after he found my pictures."

"You should have told me."

"Dude, I told you that he had been taken care of, and he wasn't stalking me anymore. I found out afterward that you had been up every weekend during that time. Scott even told me that he thought I was insane for thinking that anyone would stalk me."

"Isaac said that no one was following you around, and then I got the message, and I assumed he was right."

"Yeah, well, the funny thing is you never get the right answer when you talk to anyone else. So after that, I just talked to Peter about everything. He talked to me through a few freak-outs about college and the breakup with my last boyfriend because I was too focused on school."

"You dated?" Derek asked.

"Yes, I've dated since freshman year. I had a boyfriend through most of my junior year, and last year I had two different tones. The last cheated on me if you want to know."

"Peter never said anything."

"Yes, well, Peter doesn't go around telling everyone else in the pack everyone else's business. He talks to Dad about everything, but given Dad's, his beau, and I'm his son, I can understand that."

Derek looked like the world had dropped out from below his feet. He was looking at Stiles like he didn't know him.

"You never talked to any of the pack about your boyfriends."

"Who am I supposed to talk to? Scott's so far up Allison and Isaac's asses that he can't see anything. Allison talks to me, but she never tells anyone about anything. She's getting a little tired of Scott's devotion, BTW. I am sure that they will fight about it soon. I told Scott about the guy I dated freshman year, and then when he broke up with me at a party to go and fuck some girl, I went to Scott's, and he didn't remember the long talk I with him about my boyfriend and that since he didn't remember, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I mean, we were only dating for two months. Which was longer than Scott and Allison dated the first time, and he acted like it was the end of the fucking world when she dumped him. So yeah, I love the double standard there. My first fucking boyfriend dumps me to fuck a girl, and I shouldn't be that upset."

Derek's eyes had kept on getting bigger and bigger the more that Stiles ranted.

"I think I made a mistake," Derek said.

"You think? You think?! That's the understatement of the year, Alpha. But don't worry. When this storm is over, I'm heading home. Then I'm going back to college. I'll stay in my apartment and maybe take that Alpha up on the offer of joining his pack."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"Why? Why? After everything I just unloaded on you, you are going to ask me why?" Stiles asked.

"Your father is in Beacon Hills."

"You are telling me that you will deny me the right to go home to see my father if I join a pack that actually gives a fucking shit about me?"

"We care about you," Derek said.

Stiles looked at Derek with a shocked look on his face. He was sure that he looked comical at how shocked he looked.

"I can't even with you, man. I can't. Just...fucking leave me alone," Stiles said. He turned to head upstairs because he was done. He was just so fucking done. He had good boots with him, and if he stuck to the road in the daylight, he would reach the town.

Stiles dropped onto his bed and dialed his father after he shut and locked the door.

"Stiles, did you and Derek make it fine last night?" Noah asked.

"I texted you, Dad."

"Yes, well, that was about the storm. Peter's not heard from Derek, or you and I got the text from you, but that doesn't mean one of you isn't maimed."

Stiles heard Peter's laugh in the background, and he wished that PEter had come with them. Then Peter would be here now, and he could take comfort from him.

"Oh, hold on. Derek's calling Peter now."

"Speaker for both of us, I'll keep quiet."

"Derek," Peter said.

"What the hell is going on with Stiles?" Derek demanded.

"You'll have to be a little more expansive, nephew. In regards to what?"

"Everything. He's depressed and refuses to talk to me. He's had boyfriends, and I never knew that. Just everything."

"Ah, I see. You have been made aware that letting your betas tell you everything about your pet human has caused an issue. It's okay. I'm sure it can be fixed. Maybe start by talking to him."

"Talking?" Derek asked.

"Yes, the thing I told you years ago. Before, being around him was too hard since he didn't seem interested in you, as you said. I would start with you are sorry for ignoring him for nearly five years."

"I"ve not been ignoring him. I pay attention when he's around."

"And when he's gone to him, it's like he doesn't exist. Your pack has been ignoring him as I've told you. You worked hard to get your pack all happy, but you forgot a few members of it, Derek."

"He's closer with Scott."

"And Scott hasn't had time for Stiles since he turned into a Werewolf and found Allison. Kira, then Malia, then Allison again, Isaac, and finally Allison and Isaac," Noah said.

"I didn't know that," Derek admitted.

"Because you don't listen to Noah or me."

"You guys are biased on Stiles, and he's needy," Derek said.

"Who said he's needy?" Noah asked.

"Isaac after that time that he broke his foot. Asking everyone to do things for him. I didn't notice it at first, but then I saw it. He asked for a lot of stuff while he was on crutches. Stupid stuff."

Stiles wanted to hang up right then. He really did. He needed to distance himself. He grabbed his boots and started to get ready to leave. He hadn't unpacked much, so he started to pack up. He sighed as he heard Derek muttering to himself instead of talking to them.

"Derek, son, Stiles' foot and toes were broken in eight places and his lower leg in one. In the beginning moving around at all hurt like a son of a bitch, even on pills. He would roll over at night and scream himself awake from the pain. I didn't know that not being able to move around made one needy," Noah said.

"I didn't know."

"You didn't want to know. You thought that you could shove Stiles onto this shelf and, when you were ready for him, take him down to play with him. I never corrected you on that after I tried the first time. Stiles has loved and dated since high school. He stopped talking about it around anyone as Lydia and Jackson both made rude comments once when he talked about his then-boyfriend. If you want to salvage even a friendship with him, you are going to need to figure something out."

Stiles wasn't sure he wanted a friendship with Derek. He hung up the phone and slipped it into his inside coat pocket. He wasn't sure where Derek was, but he didn't care.

It was cold outside, but Stiles could do it. It was only a mile, and he had a phone that had a good signal despite where they were. He made it down to the first bend in the road and breathed a sigh of relief. If Derek had been close, he would have heard Stiles leaving. He had to have gone somewhere that he thought Stiles couldn't hear him call from.

The weather wasn't too bad, the snow was horrible, and Stiles figured that his feet would be cold and wet, but it wouldn't be too bad. He was about half a mile away when he stopped to check his phone. He was still on the road it looked like on the map that he had open on there. He smiled to himself before going again.

Stiles stopped outside of the B&B and inhaled to put a smile on his face before he opened the door.

"Dory, is that you?" a woman called out.

"No, my name is Stiles, and I was hoping for a room until I can get someone to come and get me and take me home."

"How did you get here?" a middle-aged woman stepped around a wall with an apron on. She looked to be covered in flour.

"I was in one of the cabins, but I just didn't want to be there anymore with who I was with."

"Damn, did you break up with your boyfriend?" the woman asked.

"Break up with my boyfriend?" Stiles asked.

"Oh, no, wait. Dory told me that he was going to ask you to date him. I am guessing that you don't like him like that? You are homophobic, are you?" the woman looked at him like she was going to be pissed.

"No, I'm not homophobic. I'm pretty much wholly gay with a few blips of female lust. No, he didn't ask me to date him. I really didn't give him a chance after he's spent the last while ignoring me. We were supposed to have a mess of friends around us here, and I didn't want to be alone with him, so I walked down here."

"Well, have you ate breakfast?"

"No. He was cooking breakfast, and I kind of blew up at him. So I'm pretty hungry, and I need to take some pills. Do you have a snack I could at least eat until then?"

"Sure thing. I have biscuits done. I have some gravy I can heat up and crumble some cooked sausage in to make some easy gravy if you want to just wait to eat that."

"Sounds lovely."

"After I get the food done and you get food eaten, we can talk about rooms and money."

Stiles nodded his head. He dropped his backpack and bag down on the ground. He followed the woman into the back area, where there was a table that she pushed him to. The kitchen was nice and cozy with the table and all of the food prep going on around him. There were two guys in there who were cutting or stirring things.

"This is Stiles. Stiles, this is my grandson Leroy and his boyfriend, Scott."

Stiles nodded his head, knowing that he couldn't forget at least Scott's name.

"My name is Dottie."

"Dottie and Dory?" Stiles asked.

"Dory is my twin sister. She owns the grocery store here in town. That's how she talked to your friend."

"Um, Granny, umm..." Scott was looking out the window, and he was now pointing out there as well.

Stiles moved around to look, and he saw red eyes in the dark. Fucking Derek was going to out himself.

"That will be Stiles' friend. He an alpha?" Dottie asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," Stiles said.

"You sit there. Leroy, heat up some gravy and add some sausage, make this boy a good serving of biscuits and gravy so that he can take his pills."

"Yes, Granny." Leroy dropped his knife and grabbed another pan. He walked around, grabbing things and Stiles focused on him and not the old woman going to talk to Derek.

"You have no claim on him!" Dottie yelled.

Stiles flinched as Derek's eyes flash red. Stiles looked away, moving to where he wasn't

"So you run with wolves?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, my best friend was bitten by an insane Alpha, and I have been in the life a long time."

"You rejected your Alpha's advances?" Leroy asked.

"Not so much. I didn't even think he liked me as a person at all until just a little while ago. I was under the impression I was only in the Pack so that my best friend didn't leave and that my father would keep on helping. He's the county Sheriff back home."

"Sounds like he's getting his ass handed to him," Leroy said.

"You can hear them?" Stiles asked.

Leroy's eyes flashed blue.

"Huh, how many around here are?"

"Well, most of the town actually. It's why your Alpha likes to come here during the winter or summer. You are safe here. He would never disrespect Granny by forcing his way in here. You choose well on where to stay."

"Okay." Stiles moved to where he could see as Leroy settled a plate of steaming food in front of him.

The door opened up just as he did, and Derek followed Dottie inside. Stiles didn't pause in putting a bite of food into his mouth.

"Stiles, Alpha Hale has a single question to ask you," Dottie said.

"Sure," Stiles said.

"Stiles, may I come over tomorrow afternoon and talk with you?" Derek asked. He wasn't looking at Stiles as he asked the question.

"Yes at one," Stiles answered.

Derek nodded his head and finally looked at Stiles. "Thank you."

"You are welcome."

"Dottie, thank you," Derek said.

"Go," Dottie said.

Derek nodded his head. He looked at Stiles one last time before leaving.

* * *

The storm was back and in full force, but Stiles wasn't shocked when Derek appeared in the middle of the storm. He was dressed dark enough that Stiles could pick him out. He opened up the door that led into the dining room area, stepping in before shaking to get snow out of his hair and off of his face. He took off his jacket and hung it up.

"Dottie has tea coming out in a minute. You are a little early."

"I left early so that if something caught me in the walk, I wasn't going to be late."

Stiles nodded his head as Dottie came into the room with a tray that held two cups and a massive teapot on it as well as what looked like finger sandwiches.

"Did you eat lunch, Derek?" Dottie asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," Derek answered.

"Good. I still expect all of these sandwiches to be gone. If they are eaten before you boys are done, I'll bring out some sweets."

"Thank you," Derek said.

Stiles just smiled at her.

"You break anything, Derek, and I'll break you," Dottie said.

Derek nodded his head, and then a few seconds later, they were alone.

Stiles waited to see what Derek was going to say first.

"I've been made aware that my words are nothing that you are going to need actions. So I want to start that off with I am sorry. I'm sorry for letting the betas dictate what I was doing with you. I listened to them talking about you, which warped what I saw. You were so busy your freshman year, and I worried that I was distracting you, so I stepped back and listened to everyone else talking about you."

"That's why you pulled back? I liked the nights you hung out in my dorm room and read or watched something on your laptop while I worked on stuff. I thought that it was helping us become better friends. Then you kept dodging me after that, and things just went downhill."

"I was stupid. I...knew you were crushing on me. Before, it had been something light and like many high school students get on adults in their lives like teachers and the like, and I didn't like it, but I ignored it as you never did anything about it. Then college happened, and we were getting closer, and I freaked out."

"Because of Kate?" Stiles asked.

"What?" Derek looked shocked.

"It didn't take me long to figure out what really went on with Kate. I mean, you were so freaked out about her being around."

"I never realized that you knew."

"It's why I never did anything about my crush. I knew that you would not do a damned thing before I turned eighteen, and then I was dealing with college, but you were there. You were around all the time. I dated a few people, and one of them around the time you were pulling back. Dates were a lot of fun in freshman year, and I thought that if I dated around some, you would be more willing to date me."

"Peter has made me aware that Isaac was jealous of how much time I spent with you during your freshman year. He didn't realize that the main reason was that I could just exist with you. I didn't need to do anything but be in the room with you. It was a stress release for me. Then you broke your foot just after getting home from that year. I didn't realize you were in that much pain."

"It was bad, and it was because of the way the breaks were. The cast didn't hold the best. I was getting weekly scans to make sure that bones were healing in the correct place."

"I failed epically, and I've been made aware of just how horribly I have failed. I would like you to stay here until after the rest of the pack gets here. I mean, here at the B&B., I'll come down once a day, and we can talk and get to know each other again since it seems that I thought I knew all about who you were and I really didn't."

"What's the point of that?" Stiles asked.

"Friends. I want to be friends. I want to have you in my Pack. I won't lie and say I don't want more, but friends need to come first."

"I can do the friends, but I will not stop dating," Stiles said.

Derek nodded his head even though it looked like he really wanted to do anything but. "I understand."

"I don't...I don't understand, Derek. You like me, you obviously do if you want more from me, yet you thought I was needy and a whole slew of other things from the betas."

"That was before you changed over the years. You grew up. You changed, and I feel in love with you from afar. I just wasn't ready."

"You weren't ready for what?"

"Any kind of relationship. The last two women I really liked nearly killed me, my packs, and my family. Kate did better at it than Jennifer, but Jennifer tried. It wasn't someplace good for me. So therapy. As soon as I realized that I liked you that way your junior year, I went into therapy. To my knowledge, you were not even attempting to date or had even dated at all, so I tried to get myself fixed before I even asked you out. I think that this weekend was planned. We were supposed to go up here for just a single week, but Lydia added another week. She's the one who dictated who went with who and where they were going to be coming from and when. It was quite interesting but not really. I guess the storm was being predicted all week, which started when Lydia told me it would be two weeks up here. Most of the pack doesn't have a lot of family, and your father and Peter were going to drive up the night before Christmas and then leave the next day so that you had Christmas with him. Now it makes sense. We were set to be the first up, and there were delays in the others leaving, so they are at the mountains' base. This was very much planned from the get-go to have us stuck up here where I would inevitably ask you on a date."

"And Lydia thought that I would what just jump at the chance?" Stiles asked.

"Well, according to her, you never stopped crushing on me, and it was why you were single for all of that time. Now though, I find that her reasoning was flawed. She thought that your crush on me was like the one on her, long and strong, instead of something that withered and died with how I was treating you. I guess this is all a moot point unless you think that you might like me like that again," Derek said.

"I really don't know. I've spent since sophomore year of college thinking that I was only in the pack to keep Scott happy and my dad helping with things. I don't know what I would feel for you knowing that you didn't hate me and were just looking for a justified reason to throw me out of the pack and keep those two. Though, I don't think that Scott would care much at all. He's...not a good friend to anyone really, except for those he is dating or trying to date."

"That has been pointed out to me before, but I thought that was other people, not you. Scott was supposed to be keeping an eye on you anyway. I never would have let you go off to college without someone watching you. I've been in contact with the local pack about watching over you since the rest of the pack has gone onto other colleges for their postgraduate work, or they have just fully graduated. Yeah, I feel like things have gotten off to a weird start with that Alpha. I need to go and talk to him about a lot of things. He offered an advisor to me, a pack elder, and I scoffed at it, not to his face, before. I guess maybe I do need that. I need to get my pack under control."

"Not for me, you don't," Stiles said.

"Actually, yeah, I do. Every member of the pack should feel like they are fully part of the pack. No one should ever feel like they have been left behind. You have obviously been keeping things from me, but I can understand everything that had been going on around that. Maybe when we get back, we can head up together, and we can talk to the Alpha?" Derek asked.

"Sure."

"Good. Good. Then I want to see your place. I've never been there." 

"We can do that." Stiles nodded his head, and he looked at the tea before pouring himself a cup and grabbing a sandwich. The tea was still a little too warm to do anything but sip it, but Stiles needed something to distract him.

"How did your foot heal up?" Derek asked.

"What?"

"I never asked, and Scott said that your foot was fine before the end of summer. I can't trust that anymore."

"Ah, well, it did heal up mostly fine. When it gets cold during winter, it aches sometimes, and if I walk on it a lot over the uneven ground, it will start to ache. So yeah, it's doing pretty good. That series of thunderstorms we had that lasted for nearly a week had it aching as well. I found a good cream that I rub on it, and it seems to be helping."

"But normal walking and running don't bother it?" Derek asked.

"No, just uneven ground for very long periods. We did a body hunt in the woods for my criminal psych class senior year, and we were out there all day trying to find one hundred bodies, which was when it really started to hurt me. I got a new pair of shoes for that. These boots seem to be doing good with it as well. So yeah, I'm pretty good on most things with it."

"Good. Good. I want..." Derek sighed and set about getting himself another cup of tea. 

Stiles had been so focused on other things he hadn't noticed when Derek had got himself the first cup of tea. Stiles grabbed another two finger sandwiches and ate them while Derek fussed with his food and drink. 

"I want you to tell me everything, not like what happened in the past but from here on out. I want to know if you stub your toe getting out of bed. What professors you hate. I want to make a standing time to come up each week and spend the evening like we used to do. I don't care if you are muttering into a textbook, and I'm just watching TV. I want to be friends. I don't want to have a day in my life where I don't talk to you, even through texts. Even if all we do is stay friends."

"I think I could do with a good friend in my life," Stiles said.

"Good. Why don't we talk about what you have been doing with your degree? That's a good place to start, right?"

"Yeah, it is." 

Stiles knew that Derek was trying now, but only time would tell if he kept doing it. He wanted to hope that it would be like what Derek wanted; they would become good friends and maybe more. He needed his pack back, which they were when they were in high school. Before Lydia started to hate him for getting better grades than her, it seemed like the rest of the pack followed. He needed it, and he wanted it. He just really wanted it all. He really did. 

# The End

**Author's Note:**

> I write fanfiction for fun. It's a hobby and a stress relief. I refuse to stress over my writing. What you see is what you get. Errors, plot holes, and all. Thank you for reading my story! 
> 
> I can be found on MeWe [here](https://mewe.com/i/beccaqueen1), join me there and we can discuss my fics and whatnot.


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